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#12
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On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 08:22:14 UTC, Laura R.
wrote: circa Mon, 16 Feb 2004 08:11:32 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Mark Healey ) said, That is all live-with-able. What isn't is that one likes to scratch my Mame-cab at night. It is pretty much a Formica covered hollow box. There isn't much damage but it is all kinds of noisy and he seems to only like to do it when I am just starting to doze off. I would like the pros and cons without a bunch of high abstractions about mutilating their natural form (they are already eunuchs). Soft Paws. http://www.softpaws.com Have you used them and do you have any interrest in the company? -- Mark Heaely marknews(at)healeyonline(dot)com |
#13
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Just thought I'd share this with people considering declawing their cats....
I've always had cats, and I've never had any of them scratch up my furniture. Early on, I happened to discover why. Those carpet-covered scratching posts that you can get at pet stores are no good at all -- cats want something nice and rough to scratch on. So I made my own scratching post/pad thusly: Get a piece of sturdy wood or plywood 12"-8" wide X about 24" long. Go to the hardware store and buy a good length of sisal rope, the really rough and hairy stuff, but relatively thin, between 1/8" - 3/8" diameter. Tack the end of the rope across the bottom face of the board with some carpet tacks (be sure the nails don't penetrate to the other side of the board), then wind the rope around the board until it wraps the board completely, all the way to the top. Tack it again at the top. Leave this on the floor somewhere in your cats' regular travel path. You can also apply some catnip extract (just boil up some catnip in water and strain it) to get them started. Some cats like the board at an angle, you can put one end up on a brick or something like that to give it a little bit of slope. I imagine you could make something like this with carpet if you put the rough side of the carpet OUT, instead of the fluffy side. I have also used an old roll of carpet, rolled with the rough side out -- they go mad for it. M9 |
#14
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(Mark Healey) wrote in message ...
Soft Paws. http://www.softpaws.com Have you used them and do you have any interrest in the company? Inappropriate cross-posting removed. If you are having problems with cats ruining your furniture DO NOT declaw them - unless you want your furniture ruined by inappropriate elimination. Up to 30% of all declawed cats develop one behavioral problem or another, the most common being peeing inappropriately (see below). I used to apply Soft Paws every day at a feline specialty vet where I worked. I also do counseling for scratching and behavioral problems in cats. Below, I will cut and paste a review of Soft Paws which I wrote for another NG. As for scratching problems, most can be solved without resorting to declawing. Cats scratch to relieve tension and to mark territory, so they WILL scratch, regardless of what you do. If a cat fails to use a scratching post, it is usually because the cat is not satisfied by the surfaces of the post, and the post is too small or not stable enough. I always recommend purchasing a large cat tree, and covering the tree with multiple surfaces, such as sisal, carpet (pile and backing), raw wood (bark and/or pulp), burlap, different fabrics and anything else you can get your hands on that might be attractive to kitty feet. If you provide a surface more attractive than the furniture, your cats WILL use it. Trimmed nails are less likely to do major damage if the cat is scratching inappropriately, so I recommend trimming nails every two weeks or so. Also, there is a product called Feliaway which will encourage paw marking (scratching) which you can spray on your cat tree to encourage appropriate scratching. As for declawing, there are a few studies which show an increased incidence of behavior problems in declawed cats, and long term complications have been found in roughly 20% of cats declawed. Inappropriate elimination is a common problem. Having participated in the surgery and been the primary aftercare provider for cats and kittens undergoing the surgery, I could never, in good faith, recommend declawing any cat, of any age. (Prior to my experiences as a vet tech, I though declawing was a benign surgery. Not any more.) Good luck, and I hope you can find a solution which works for you. -L. paste SoftPaws Some people were asking about SoftPaws. I work at a vet, and apply these things every day, to all kinds of cats. Here is my take: Description: A set of rubber nail covers which are glued to the nail, after trimming, with a super-glue-like substance. They are used to keep the kitty from scratching things that may be damaged by unaltered nails. **************** Pros: They are really, really easy to apply if kitty cooperates, and will let you trim her nails easily. They take about 5-8 minutes to apply, once you get the hang of it. They are relatively inexpensive (about $10-12/set, if applied at the vet, and they last 1-3 months.) They are even less expensive if you buy your own kit and apply them at home. They do not interfere with normal claw usage, but protect things you do not want scratched, fairly effectively. Some cats do very, very well with them. **************** Cons: Some cats *detest* them, and will fight you tooth and nail (excuse the pun) when you try to apply them. Some cats pull them off easily. The glue is very sticky, and will stick to and damage any surface it encounters (including human skin). If the glue touches any skin while wet (human or cat), it burns. It is fairly caustic. Some cats are allergic to the glue. If the nail is trimmed too short, the glue can damage the nail bed, which results in a crusty/ill formed nail, when the nail grows out. They work best of the nail is trimmed fairly short, and if the glue is applied in the inner 2/3 of the cap, before application. The caps need to be fitted properly. Many technicians tend to use caps that are too large, and then the cat is constantly fighting with the caps, as they "feel" awkward. (Or they chew them off!) One cat may need more than one size of caps to accomodate all nails on the foot (e.g. mediums on all nails except 'pinky", which needs a small). The caps need to be applied quickly after the glue is applied...the glue dries very quickly. This can be tricky for beginners. **************** Overall impression: I think trimming nails often (every 1-2 weeks) is a better, more wholistic solution to scratching problems, than Softpaws. If you are unable to do this, SoftPaws may be a solution for you. Overall, it is a good product, but may not be good for every cat. |
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Wow, thank you so much for sharing that. I've been arguing with my mom over
declawing or not declawing. She grew in the thinking that declawing was ok. And I know it is not. So I try to convince her that it's not a thing to do. You just gave me very good arguments there. Thank you very much Mia "-L." wrote in message m... (Mark Healey) wrote in message t... Soft Paws. http://www.softpaws.com Have you used them and do you have any interrest in the company? Inappropriate cross-posting removed. If you are having problems with cats ruining your furniture DO NOT declaw them - unless you want your furniture ruined by inappropriate elimination. Up to 30% of all declawed cats develop one behavioral problem or another, the most common being peeing inappropriately (see below). I used to apply Soft Paws every day at a feline specialty vet where I worked. I also do counseling for scratching and behavioral problems in cats. Below, I will cut and paste a review of Soft Paws which I wrote for another NG. As for scratching problems, most can be solved without resorting to declawing. Cats scratch to relieve tension and to mark territory, so they WILL scratch, regardless of what you do. If a cat fails to use a scratching post, it is usually because the cat is not satisfied by the surfaces of the post, and the post is too small or not stable enough. I always recommend purchasing a large cat tree, and covering the tree with multiple surfaces, such as sisal, carpet (pile and backing), raw wood (bark and/or pulp), burlap, different fabrics and anything else you can get your hands on that might be attractive to kitty feet. If you provide a surface more attractive than the furniture, your cats WILL use it. Trimmed nails are less likely to do major damage if the cat is scratching inappropriately, so I recommend trimming nails every two weeks or so. Also, there is a product called Feliaway which will encourage paw marking (scratching) which you can spray on your cat tree to encourage appropriate scratching. As for declawing, there are a few studies which show an increased incidence of behavior problems in declawed cats, and long term complications have been found in roughly 20% of cats declawed. Inappropriate elimination is a common problem. Having participated in the surgery and been the primary aftercare provider for cats and kittens undergoing the surgery, I could never, in good faith, recommend declawing any cat, of any age. (Prior to my experiences as a vet tech, I though declawing was a benign surgery. Not any more.) Good luck, and I hope you can find a solution which works for you. -L. paste SoftPaws Some people were asking about SoftPaws. I work at a vet, and apply these things every day, to all kinds of cats. Here is my take: Description: A set of rubber nail covers which are glued to the nail, after trimming, with a super-glue-like substance. They are used to keep the kitty from scratching things that may be damaged by unaltered nails. **************** Pros: They are really, really easy to apply if kitty cooperates, and will let you trim her nails easily. They take about 5-8 minutes to apply, once you get the hang of it. They are relatively inexpensive (about $10-12/set, if applied at the vet, and they last 1-3 months.) They are even less expensive if you buy your own kit and apply them at home. They do not interfere with normal claw usage, but protect things you do not want scratched, fairly effectively. Some cats do very, very well with them. **************** Cons: Some cats *detest* them, and will fight you tooth and nail (excuse the pun) when you try to apply them. Some cats pull them off easily. The glue is very sticky, and will stick to and damage any surface it encounters (including human skin). If the glue touches any skin while wet (human or cat), it burns. It is fairly caustic. Some cats are allergic to the glue. If the nail is trimmed too short, the glue can damage the nail bed, which results in a crusty/ill formed nail, when the nail grows out. They work best of the nail is trimmed fairly short, and if the glue is applied in the inner 2/3 of the cap, before application. The caps need to be fitted properly. Many technicians tend to use caps that are too large, and then the cat is constantly fighting with the caps, as they "feel" awkward. (Or they chew them off!) One cat may need more than one size of caps to accomodate all nails on the foot (e.g. mediums on all nails except 'pinky", which needs a small). The caps need to be applied quickly after the glue is applied...the glue dries very quickly. This can be tricky for beginners. **************** Overall impression: I think trimming nails often (every 1-2 weeks) is a better, more wholistic solution to scratching problems, than Softpaws. If you are unable to do this, SoftPaws may be a solution for you. Overall, it is a good product, but may not be good for every cat. |
#16
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When we adopted Misha, we built her a cat tree... We used two kind of
surfaces but one is not so accessible. We were lucky enough though, She loves her tree... I'll post a picture on alt.binaries.pictures.animals for the ones who wish to see it. It was great fun to make, and Misha made it her property. Since she arrived in the family 9 years after the others, it wasn't necessarily easy for her to find a place that would belong to her. So her tree helped with that. When she wants peace, she sleeps on the top "shelf" ... The tree also has enough carpet and high enough for her to stretch and scratch (which she does at times) Mia "Meghan Noecker" wrote in message ... On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 08:11:32 GMT, (Mark Healey) wrote: They have a cat stand that they ignore. What surface does your cat prefer to scratch? It could be that you need a different kind of cat tree for him. In my house, Kira prefers rug; Maynard prefers bare wood, and Chase prefers sisal rope and cardboard. So, we have a tall cat tree with wood on the bottom and rug on top. We have a cardboard scratcher toy on the floor. That takes care of everybody. Recently, I bought my nephew a new cat tree for his bedroom to encourage his cat to spend more time in there. It has rug and sisal rope. Also, something that is really important with cat scratchers. They need to be tall enough for cats to stretch. Many of them ones sold in stores are way too short. Some are not very sturdy, and some may be 2-3 feet high, but with the shelf design, there isn't a tall vertical for them to stretch into when the scratch. The best kinds are the ones that go all the way to the ceiling. They tend to have a good 3 feet of vertical post before the first shelf, so plenty of scratching space, and then the shelves are vert tempting since cats like to be high up. Other good cat trees are the ones with multiple posts. They don't have to hook up the ceiling since they have a wide base and good weight to be sturdy. And usually, one or two of the posts are a good 3-4 feet high. We used to have one of the 2 feet ones, and it moved when the cat scratched. So, they just didn't like it. You can entice them with catnip and other treats. And reward them for good scratching. You can also take a water bottle to deter them from the furniture. I've had cats all my life, and we really haven't had a problem with scratching. They love those cat trees and they don't have any interest in the furniture, other than napping. Meghan & the Zoo Crew Equine and Pet Photography http://www.zoocrewphoto.com |
#17
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I decided against declawing. It seems mean and they are really good
about peeing appropriately. I decided to buy them. Not as easy as one would think. I checked the web sites of pet(smart/co) to see if they carried them. They both claimed to, at $2.00 more than you can get them from the manufacturer. I went to the first store and it turns out that they only sell them on-line, bummer. The second one only had clear ones. I bought them anyway. $18.00 seems like a lot of money for $.50 worth of plastic and two tubes of crazy glue. Hopefully they'll become popular enough for someone to knock them off and drive the price down. I'm not sure if I got the right size. I bought large because people are always saying "gee, your cats are huge" and when they jump on me from 6 feet off the ground I make a noticeable "oof" sound. Applying them wasn't easy. It was no more difficult than trimming their nails but they don't like that either. It's amazing how bendy they are when they want to escape. I did manage to get them on. I'm not sure about their choice of plastic. It looks and feels like polyethylene which is pretty close to inert. Hell, that's what they put crazy glue in. The first thing they tried to do was chew them off, so far, without success. I put some wet food down to distract them for a while to give the glue a chance to really set. I'll post the results after a whole day tomorrow. One question fro Mia. Can vets buy them by the hundreds to get a deal. |
#18
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"Mark Healey" wrote in message .... One question fro Mia. Can vets buy them by the hundreds to get a deal. I think this question goes to L Mia |
#19
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"frigamia" wrote in message ... "Mark Healey" wrote in message ... One question fro Mia. Can vets buy them by the hundreds to get a deal. I think this question goes to L Or to your vet... Mia |
#20
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"Mark Healey" wrote in message ... I decided against declawing. It seems mean and they are really good about peeing appropriately. It is worse than mean, and you are a lovely person for understanding that. I decided to buy them. Not as easy as one would think. I checked the web sites of pet(smart/co) to see if they carried them. They both claimed to, at $2.00 more than you can get them from the manufacturer. I went to the first store and it turns out that they only sell them on-line, bummer. The second one only had clear ones. I bought them anyway. $18.00 seems like a lot of money for $.50 worth of plastic and two tubes of crazy glue. Hopefully they'll become popular enough for someone to knock them off and drive the price down. I think training and trimming are easier. You do have to be patient and persistent. A great deal of it lies in providing something they would rather have at. I just bought my girl one of those $14.99 sisal trays for the floor and she never goes near the couch any more. |
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